Hurricanes at Rangers tonight

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. CAROLINA HURRICANES
Monday, Mar. 18, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Rangers: 13-12-2 (28 pts)
Hurricanes: 15-11-1 (31 pts)TONIGHT’S GAMEThe Rangers will face-off against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m. — TV: MSG Network; Radio: ESPN 98.7), in the first game of a back-to-back set. The Blueshirts currently rank fourth in the Atlantic Division standings, and rank 10th in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 13-12-2 (28 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having been defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-0, on Saturday at CONSOL Energy Center, to complete their four-game road trip. The Blueshirts have posted a combined record of 2-4-0 in back-to-back games this season, including a 2-1-0 (1-0-0 at home) record in the first game. The Hurricanes enter the contest with a 15-11-1 (31 pts) record to rank eighth in the Eastern Conference, and have lost their last two games. Following tonight’s contest, the Rangers will complete their back-to-back set when they face-off against the New Jersey Devils tomorrow, Mar. 19, at Prudential Center (7:00 p.m.), in an Atlantic Division matchup.

RANGERS vs. HURRICANES:
– All-Time: 59-48-7-2 overall (36-17-4-2 at home; 23-31-3-0 on the road)
– 2013: Tonight is the first of three meetings this season, and the only meeting at Madison Square Garden
– Last Season: New York was 4-0-0 overall (2-0-0 mark at home; 2-0-0 mark on the road). The Rangers out-scored the Hurricanes, 17-8, including a 7-1 advantage in the third period. New York was 2-13 (15.4%) on the power play, while the penalty kill was 10-12 (83.3%) in the series. Marian Gaborik led the Rangers with four assists and seven points, while Gaborik and Brad Richards tied for the series high with three goals apiece. Henrik Lundqvist was 1-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .971 Sv%, and Martin Biron was 3-0-0 with a 2.34 GAA and .916 Sv%.
– The Blueshirts have won six of their last seven games against the Hurricanes, having out-scored Carolina, 24-16, over the span
– The Rangers enter the contest with a three-game winning streak against the Hurricanes at MSG, and have out-scored Carolina, 11-4, in those contests
– New York ranks 14th in the NHL with a 9-5-1 (19 pts) record at home; Carolina is tied for ninth in the NHL with an 8-5-1 (17 pts) mark on the road
– The Rangers are 5-2-0 vs. the Southeast Division this season; the Hurricanes are 5-1-1 vs. the Atlantic Division this season
– New York lists no former Hurricanes on their roster
– Carolina lists one former Ranger on their roster: Bobby Sanguinetti (2009-10)

INDIVIDUAL CAREER LEADERS vs. HURRICANES:
– Henrik Lundqvist — 20 GP, 11-8-1, 2.37 GAA, 1 SO
– Martin Biron — 22 GP, 13-4-1-2, 2.50 GAA, 1 SO
– Brad Richards — 50 GP, 14-31-45
– Marian Gaborik — 18 GP, 10-11-21
– Jeff Halpern — 52 GP, 16-13-29
– Ryan McDonagh — 6 GP, 1-3-4SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Rangers’ power play is 9-42 (21.4%) in the last 15 games, while the Blueshirts’ penalty kill is 46-53 (86.8%) in the last 18 games. New York has posted a record of 8-4-1 when not allowing a power play goal.
– Power Play: The Rangers did not tally a goal in two power play attempts (3:55) on Saturday at Pittsburgh. New York ranks 24th overall (13-86, 15.1%) and 20th at home (9-51, 17.6%). The Rangers are 2-8 (7:46) in five-on-three situations (last – 3/3 vs. BUF), and 1-1 (0:21) when four-on-three (last – 3/7 at NYI). Shorthanded goals allowed (3): 2/19 vs. MTL (Diaz, EN); 2/21 at OTT (Silfverberg); 3/3 vs. BUF (Gerbe).
– Penalty Killing: The Blueshirts surrendered one goal to the Penguins in three power play attempts (5:34) on Saturday at Pittsburgh. New York is tied for 10th overall (78-94, 83.0%) and ranks 17th at home (47-56, 83.9%). The Rangers are 5-5 (5:52) in three-on-five situations (last – 3/10 at WSH), and 3-3 (4:19) when three-on-four (last – 3/3 vs. BUF). Shorthanded goals for (2): 1/20 vs. PIT (Nash); 3/12 at BUF (Stepan).
– Four-on-Four: New York did not tally/yield a goal in two four-on-four situations (2:05) on Saturday at Pittsburgh, and are now minus-1 in 18 four-on-four situations (33:21) this season. Four-on-four goals for (1): 1/23 vs. BOS (Gaborik). Four-on-four goals allowed (2): 1/20 vs. PIT (Letang); 1/23 vs. BOS (Horton).

BACK-TO-BACKS
The Rangers will begin their fourth of six back-to-back sets this season tonight against Carolina. New York has posted a combined record of 2-4-0 in back-to-back games, including a 2-1-0 (1-0-0 at home; 1-1-0 on the road) record in the first game and an 0-3-0 (0-2-0 at home; 0-1-0 on the road) mark in the second.

SOUTHEAST FEAST
The Rangers have posted a record of 20-5-2 in their last 27 games against Southeast Division opponents, including a 5-2-0 mark against the Southeast Division this season. The Blueshirts have out-scored their Southeast Division opponents, 89-55, over the span.

HOW SWEEP IT IS
New York swept their season series against Carolina last season with a 4-0-0 record, marking the first time since the 2002-03 season the Rangers completed a season series sweep against the Hurricanes (4-0-0).

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST
Rick Nash is currently tied for the team lead with nine goals, having tallied his first eight goals of the season in the third period. Nash is the second player in NHL history whose first eight goals of a season were tallied in the third player, while fellow Ranger Arron Asham is the other to have accomplished the feat, in 2003-04, as a member of the New York Islanders.

GOAL SCORING LEADERS SINCE 2009-10
Marian Gaborik has been among the league’s goal scoring leaders since joining the Rangers in 2009-10. Last season, Gaborik became the fifth player in Rangers history to record 100 goals in his first three seasons with the club, and became the third Ranger in franchise history to register multiple 40-goal seasons with the team. Entering this season, his 105 goals from 2009-10 to 2011-12 ranked seventh in the NHL, while his .48 goals per game average ranked third (behind Steven Stamkos and Alex Ovechkin) over that time period. Including games played this season, Gaborik currently ranks seventh in the league with 113 goals scored and is tied for third with .46 goals per game since the beginning of the 2009-10 season.

A BROADWAY HIT
The Rangers rank fourth in the NHL in hits (820) this season. Rangers’ captain Ryan Callahan and forward Brian Boyle are tied for the team lead and eighth in the NHL with 92 hits apiece.

QUICK HITS:
– The Rangers did not surrender a power play opportunity against on Mar. 7 at Long Island, marking the first time the Blueshirts did not have a shorthanded situation in a game since Jan. 10, 2012, in a 2-1 shootout win vs. PHX. The last time the Rangers did not allow a power play attempt against the Islanders was Jan. 7, 1989, in a 5-1 win at Long Island.
– The Blueshirts have had 13 players make their regular season debut with the team this season
– The Rangers’ power play is 9-42 (21.4%) in the last 15 games
– The Blueshirts’ penalty kill is 46-53 (86.8%) in the last 18 games
– New York has registered a point in eight of 10 games when scoring the first goal this season (7-2-1), and are 6-10-1 when allowing the game’s first goal
– The Blueshirts have posted a 6-0-1 mark when leading after the first period, and are 7-0-0 when leading after the second period

THE HOT LIST:
– Henrik Lundqvist — has held opponents to three goals or fewer in each of his last eight games (4-4-0, 2.12 GAA, .926 Sv% over the span)
– Rick Nash — has tallied a point in 10 of his last 13 games (seven goals, nine assists over the span)
– Derek Stepan — has tallied a point in seven of the last nine games (four goals, five assists over the span)
– Ryan Callahan — six points (four goals, two assists) in the last seven contests
– Carl Hagelin — 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in the last 17 games, including four assists in the last six contests
– Ryan McDonagh — 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in his last 17 games, including six assists in the last nine contests

Rangers’ record since February 14, 2012: 37-33-4. And yes that includes playoffs. They miss lots of guys for sure, but what they miss most was that 3 month stretch where all the bounces went their way and they always just found a way to win.

Hah! Optimists! Well, I’ll put in the requisite and hopeful LGR, but do not expect much these days. The players looked lost and demoralized on the ice last game. Looks like Tort’s firestorm of criticism backfired and Sather may be looking for a new coach (I’m a fan of Tort’s coaching). Maybe they’ll see the light and turn it around, and the secondary scoring will suddenly appear, miracles do happen…but increasingly looking like last year was our year.

One good week and the Rangers can be back in the thick of it. the problem is the sands of time are dwindling down on the season. Also, can we keep the other team from scoring in the first three minutes of the game ? Beau Bennett a name that will live in infamy.

The Rangers need this win tonight to jump start the week into a positive plane but face Dan Ellis or Justin Peters in net who will mos likely play Jacque Plante tonight during the one period ( pick one period any period) we actually get chances.

Sam & Joe are already mourning that they wont be able to gush over all three Staals on the ice, the under over for Staal brother banter tonight even without Marc playing s FIVE for you betting people.

Thanks for digging up those stats. Like many of us said, last year was an aberration. They are bascically a .500 hockey team that chases 7,8,9 place. If not for a 30 game stretch last year, we would have finished barely in the playoffs.

Read Larry Brooks’ article today. Gabby is being shopped which means they will not get max value for him if at all. The key when you trade players is to do it out of a position of strengh. I particularly find what Brooks wrote about Kreider interesting and also disturbing.

Regarding last season – we had an amazing, really absolutely amazing, Nov – Jan stretch where the team’s intensity was in playoff hockey mode, blocking shots, grinding, jamming, ‘as big as’, the whole nine yards… Over all it was the first team, probably ever in my Ranger fandom, that was tougher than others teams and that was absolutely thrilling to watch after being the red headed rented donkey for ever.

Then our opponents started to get in PO hockey mode post All Star break and we were basically a .500 team with some opportune goals. Mngt saw this and realized that they needed better offensive players because the attitude which can get you wins in the first half of the season, will not work as well when every other team is jacked up.

This season because of the lockout, all the teams start in the second half and are in PO hockey mode so we lose the mental edge and the Torts’ pre season conditioning edge and are basically a .500 hockey team with a good D core, a very good Goalie, some emerging young offensive players and some very over paid front line guys.

Sather did an absolutely horrible job managing the bottom six of the roster and Richards is starting to look like Mike Keane 2.0. So forget last Fall/early Winter and realize we are a .500 team waiting for some help from the youngsters to make it our of mediocrity.

Can’t think of a straight up deal for Gaborik. I’ve heard names mentioned like Ryan’s Clowe and Malone who both bring some grit, especially Clowe. But i don’t see the benefit of trading him unless we are also adding a top prospect and #1 pick. We don’t need to trade him as he’s not a bad character that we need out of the dressing room, he just needs a kickstart

Now, if Sather could move Richie (see Gomez) to a team that is playoff bound who will use him for the stretch run and playoffs knowing they can buy him out in the summer…….. That would be great! We’d be rid of him and we’d also have our 2nd compliance buyout in our pocket in case……Nash eventually, (say after next season) becomes too expensive ($ cap hit) for his deliverables.

I also suspect buying out Nash would instantly indicate this team is in full rebuilt mode, Papa. May as well trade Hank to get some value back at the same time. Not happening. I’m also not convinced they’re actively shopping Gaborik. He is far from his true value at the moment, I’m sure they know it. They also know he is entering his contract year, perhaps his last contract.

I agree with Brooks that Gaborik should play on the R, but the notion that Torts keeps playing him on the L for Gaborik to fail is preposterous. Only suicidal coach would like his only capable 40-goal scorer to fail.

Agree on your point about Gabby’s value right now. But if he was playing like he can, we would be better off and Gabby would not be available. But that’s not where we are today and he is in fact on the market and if we can trade him , we won’t get equal value for him.

I don’t know what option that would leave them with, Papa? Gaborik will be gone either way, getting rid of Nash places them back into having no 1st line players. Hoping that Malkin and Co. Becomes available isn’t realistic.

I don’t get it. The guys leads the team to semis last year does a great job with this team all of the regular season and now everybody wants to show him the door.

I don’t think the players have tuned him out. And I don’t think he should be fired like all of the others on the Rangers blogs. The players are not performing and for the most part that should be on them.

The team is clearly flawed and most likely will not make the playoffs. But guys like Gabby and Richards and Girardi and Boyle have to be held accountable. And Lundqvist can be better too.

I’d hate to see the Rangers go into rebuild mode…
Sather just started the rebuild a few years ago, then traded parts of the rebuild for Nash…
I think any rebuild should be done someone other than the failure that is Sather…

I believe in this team. They gave us that feel last year. Say what you want, but the core is still here. They haven’t replace some complimentary players, but the foundation and the coach are still here. The team is still young and added an elite player. I won’t become negative, and I won’t turn my back on this team. Not after they showed what they could do. For the record, I never thought this would be their year, lockout or not. I think next year is when they’re going to go all the way. That’s why I’m very reluctant to accept their decision to trade Gaborik now. And I doubt they will, in general, change this team drastically just to make the playoffs this year. They are fully capable of doing it as constructed. Their best players, Hank included, should start playing to their capabilities, and they’ll be fine.

ilb,
agreed, I’m also a believer, but it bother’s me that they seem to have slipped back a few notches…
Also loosing 5 of your forwards is a pretty big turnover. It usually takes a year for things to get back on track.

what a joke………….sather and torts being proactive like it. maybe they can call up or trade for some more plumbers.. i forgot halperns psyche is fragile sitting him would ruin him, after all the guy is only 35 on a 1 yr deal, need his production nect year….

I’m sorry, but the NYR think they can make a major trade now and that it will get them further in the playoffs? How many more top NHL players do you need on one roster? If we cannot win with what we now have, then it’s going to be a coaching change in June. We just got Nash and he is a beast. Torts game, the NYR game is one dimensional. Other teams now know how to play us (if their team has the goods to execute): you beat us on the near boards. We have NO answer to that, time and again. No answer, as we get trapped in our own zone, become exhausted, and leave traffic in front of Hank all day since all we do is slide around the defensive zone all night. I don’t care WHO you bring in: it won’t make any difference in this season’s outcome. We need a counterstrategy way of playing. And once a team has a lead, we are terrible at breaking the trap. Even Winnipeg was successful shutting us down. Gaborik? Torts has totally demoralized and lost this player. LW was about the stupidest idea ever on the heels of his 41 goal season last year. torts is cooked.

gabby isnt scoring but still has double what richards has. 4 measly goals. nate thompson,raffi torres, tom pyatt who has a brother i think, matt cooke and bunch of other minimum wage players have more. yea i know hes a playmaker, so what. look at mike ribiero. played 2nd line center behind richards on dallas.the lack of production wouldnt bother me as much right now but hes been terrible and soft in all 3 zones and a turnover machine. its only year 2 of his contract!! just wait till year 9.

This could be the game that defines the season. It is against a good team, however, one they can beat if the compete level is there. This is the one they need to come out at the zero minute mark with passion and desperation. Have to turn it around tonight and against the Debs…two teams right above them.

If they can eek out two wins, then it’s the Panthers, Caps, and Flyers…maybe, just maybe, they can get back on a roll.

Grabby no I’m from North Dakota, fan of the Fighting Sioux Hockey and Ranger Hockey since the 80’s. It’s been a long time since the Rangers drafted a Fighting Sioux Player. James Patrick was 1’st round pick for the Rangers in ’81. JT Miller was almost a Fighting Sioux player last year. But I started to bleed blue when Messier became a Ranger in ’91, and have been a Ranger ever since. Just enjoy visiting New York, and going to games at MSG.

The Fighting Sioux tradition is very similar to the Rangers. My first year in College was the year the Hrkac Circus won the National Championship for the Sioux. I’ve had a passion for hockey ever since. Lots of Fighting Sioux Players to follow in the NHL.

Then the home town “hero” Matt Cullen, played for the Rangers in ’06-’07.

This is the year, I’m not giving up, or jumping off the ledge. I still believe in Gaborik, Nash, and Lundqvist can win a hockey game on any given night. They will get into the playoffs this year, and then it’s a whole new season. (ie – Kings of last year).

With respect to all the comments about trades etc. Doesn’t every successful endeavor have to start with a plan?

This is what Ranger mgmt. must enunciate at some point. Many have suggested that the Pens were “lucky” to be able to draft Crosby and Malkin, but they had to blow up the roster finish last to do so.

The Pens plan was not to keep adding high priced vets from other organizations and patching the rest of the roster with cheaper players.

What is not mentioned in the Pens plan is their drafting ability which as an example has allowed them to aquire two excellent forwards in Kunitz and Neal because they have drafted extremely well with young defensemen giving them the ability to make those trades.

Other organizations have or are turning themselves around in a relatively short time ,Bruins,Pens,Kings,Hawks and even Coyotes to name a few. I would add the Flyers who are not afraid to shake things up but they are a mystery with the talent level and spotty record this year.

The point is what is the plan because this annual hyping and average performance doe not indicate progress, repeat again without this goalie they do not contend for anything except the lottery!

cool nice stories sioux. um, well i became a fan when my dad and his work buddies took me to a game back in 88. i just remember nicholls,erixon kisio and ogrodnick, few others. i was only 7 so yea but i really got into it about 2 years later i went to another game and enjoyed it much more. was lucky only had to wait 6 years to see us win the cup. wore my 94 cup hat and my kovalev jersey to school all the time. loved fighting with islander fans in school, it was great. cafeteria food fights ranger fans vs isles back in early 90s. my favorite memories obviously the cup season, 97 and gretz n mess reunited. most of my fave memories are when i joined a roller hockey league when i was in high school and played with some friends on my team . i absolutely loved playing the game. would come to the rink way early just to skate around and shoot. my dad took me and played goalie using my little plastic shin pads and a baseball glove. couldnt afford to join the school team though. but yea, the 90’s were it for me man.

Team can’t score. Power play stinks.
Get Brad Richards.
Team still can’t score. Power play stinks.
Get Rick Nash.
Team still can’t score. Power play stinks.
What makes anybody think that getting somebody at the trade deadline is going to make a difference?

i can see the disagreement over trading gborik. a $6 mill a year player who has 2 40 goal seasons for the rangers and who is a very talented player.

I cannot see the inactivity in trying to help the secondary scoring mess. really playing halpern, powe, and others game in and game out and expecting a better result the probability of that occurring is not good.halpern is a PK specialist who is not the 1st option for the Pk, simialr for Powe and these guys cannot play in the offensive zone and cannot score period…

why not try something else like Kreider… Young guys come up and down like yoyo’s the guy is talented that is obvious and his chance of scoring and his potential compared to the drecks is obvious…haley, asham, boyle, halpern, and powe are not long term assetts for the Rangers is that to hard to see…

it is almost like they do not give a crap, and they are too stupid to see. the secondary scoring production I bet is the worse in hockey. i bet if you calcualte the rangers 3rd and 4th line scoring compared to other teams it is the lowest in the NHL……

We need to stop with Kreider nonsense. What happened to him was inevitable considering his age and his stage of development. Exactly what happened to Stepan, Callahan, MDZ. Just because the fans are desperate to win a few games, it doesn’t mean they need to rush his development. And they won’t.

realistically, the Rangers need to win roughly 14 of their remaining games or come up with some combination of 26-28 points in order to make the playoffs. that’s not impossible given the schedule, but .500 the rest of the way may be more likely at this point.

I bought me a guitar about a year ago and I Learned how to play it in a day or so. And all around town it was well understood that I was knocking ’em out like Johnny B. Goode. Hot licks, showing off, ah, number one.

Where to start? TOUGH season to be a Rangers fan so far, especially when I bought into the hype that this would be another magical year… Unlike a lot of fans on this blog, I do believe it STILL can be the year, despite evidence to the contrary. I’ll elaborate:

I took a cab this weekend and had a driver from Ghana and we started talking football/soccer (after discussing that $5 lets you live like a king on the beach for a day). He was highlighting that while the Ivory Coast had great players, they didn’t have team cohesiveness and I laughed and started talking about my Rangers, which he was just starting to follow…

Fact of the matter, in my eyes, is that we don’t have a full team mentality yet. We have players taking spots out of necessity, not fit… but that doesn’t matter AS MUCH when they’re doing it as part of a machine. We STILL see players skating like every second isn’t essential – which is shocking given our current standing.

What we need, more than the next “cog” (you always need something), is sincere buy-in to supporting your brother. Haley has been getting it. Girardi gets it. McMonster and Hank get it. Stralman figured it out this year. Nash gets it… Callahan obviously gets it…. but does Taylor Pyatt? Richards? More importantly, it seems a small subsection of the team fails to get it each night. We need a TEAM, top to bottom, focused on nothing more than getting the win. Not stressing about the media, the standings or their place on the team in Tort’s eyes.

Trading Gabby? Not into it. Guy’s legit, but needs to go back to the right side.

Sorry, but I don’t see Taylor Pyatt adding a ton on a nightly basis – I want the Kreider.

Fire Torts? You kidding me? I hate his tirades and wouldn’t respond well to a Coach calling me out in a juvenile fashion but the guy can coach and his resume speaks to that. Most importantly, he cares, respects and is building this franchise.

Conditioning? Pshht, every other team got the same prep time, arguably less given our games in hand.

Nope, it all boyles down to PLAYING EVERY SECOND LIKE IT’S THE LAST. Getting back to doing whatever it takes to have more goals than the opponent by the end of the third (or Bettman bonus point extra level). It sounds too simple but when you look at our roster and our potential, it’s not about another goal scorer, it’s about maximizing the desire, passion and execution of those already wearing the sweater.

Ranger win tonight BIG for MS. 5-2/3. Goals for the Rangers from the Big 3, Hag’s and DelZotto.

I’m no fan of the idea of getting rid of Tortorella, but if they trade a slumping star for… what you get for a slumping star, instead of changing coaches, then we’ll have confirmation that there’s rot at the top. Let’s see some Hartford promotions, please, and hope the proven players respond to what now truly is backs to the wall.

Gaborik isn’t going anywhere! Talk all you want, but it isn’t going to happen.

Let him play from his natural position on the right side – TONIGHT! Watch he will start to light the lamp.
These guys are pro’s, they will find a way to win.

We need more scoring. Bring Kreider up asap, he doesn’t have a game till Friday night for the Whale. Why not have him on the 3rd line NOW!!!

Put Boyle or Pyatt on the 4th line, and play him with Haley and Miller. More speed and muscle, and a chance to score. I just don’t see the 3rd line producing much with Boyle and Pyatt on the same line. It looks to much like a checking line if you ask me.

The team (or coach) needs to realize this isn’t last year’s team. I think they have FAR more offensive talent and they have to play that way. This isn’t a grinding team but a speed and finesse team. They need players who can play that game and most of all they need a QB to set it all up. Remember when Torts mantra was “Safe is death?” Well the style the team played last year was far from that mantra, mostly because the players they had were not that type. This years team resembles that mantra. They need to play and uptempo speed game. Forecheck hard and make quick short passes, shoot the puck and drive to the net. Right now, they play dump and chase with guys who can’t win battles in corner, they have nobody outside of the injured Staal who can QB a breakout rush, and they go down WAY too fast on defense and teams are getting wise to that and either passing or waiting to shoot. I’m bringing up Kreider, I’m signing Zuccarello, I’m getting as many speed guys as I can. And I’m trading for a QB on D. I’m not sure who we could give up though. Perhaps it’s a rent a player for now. Give up a pick and someone like Boyle for that type of D. A Mike Green, if healthy would be perfect, but it would cost us a lot.

Brook’s article says they are shopping Gaborik. I only see one team that would make sence, and that would be the Sharks. They need scoring & the Rangers might take Dan Boyle on Defense and Clowe as a rental. Gaborik & Dan Boyle would be a wash, maybe we send Pyatt or Brian Boyle for Ryan Clowe.

As a fan of huge fan of Gaborik, I don’t want to see it. But there might be a deal in there some where. I’m not sure the Hamr is the answer for us if Staal can’t come back in the next couple of weeks. Boyle might be the answer from the Blue line, and on the Power Play.

I’d rather see Gaborik break out and start scoring for the Rangers. Tonight would be a Good night!

I am all for Cried-here being given a shot, but not as a 3rd line winger – that would be mixing oil and gasoline and throwing it in the fireplace. A 3rd line winger is predominantly a checking role, something he is NOT good at. He needs to play on first or second line LW – we need a scoring LW in our top 6 with Hags being the other.

If Gabby is going to RW, either put Nasher at LW (highest scoring forward moving positions, uhm not good) or move Cally to 3rd line RW (best 2 way player is now with Boyle and a rook, uhm not good, but like it better)

Jpg and my Mom is Italian American of Calabria descent. Nana used to make crispets on March 19, St. Joseph Day. They were fried dough look like a biscuit with raisins and powder sugar on top. Seemed kind of like zeppole.

Fat Guy, I’m envious eat, read and write italian wonder if you could have read my other Italian Grandfma from the old country’s words. She made up half Italian/ half English. jpg and I were towards the end of the grandkids cool to know grandparents from old country

I would share recipes, but some of Grandma’s no one can translate since half Italian/half English. I might have a couple though. Nana had kept recipes from Great Grandparents in a paper bag. We think her son in law accidentally threw them away. They’re gone.

Sign Zuc, bring up Kreider. New 3rd line of Zuc/Miller/Kreider. Boyle,Halpern,Pyatt,Powe can fight it out for 4th line/PK duties. Actually play the 3rd line and don’t bench them every time one of them makes a mistake.

My criticism of Torts is that he’s playing the wrong style for the players he has, and he has to realize he doesn’t have AA or Dubi or Feds or Prust. He’s got fringe NHLers playing on the bottom two lines and the couple of guys he DID have with speed he sent down because he was “afraid” to live with his mistakes, which is interesting for a guy who said “safe is death”. The problem is, that unless he lets them play and not get on EVERY mistake they make, they will continue to play uptight. Watch Richards with the puck. He’s so tight that the puck likes like the pink rubber ball I used to play hockey with as a kid. He needs to just tell the team to relax and go out and play hard, without the specter of getting benched after one mistake.

BTW, for those of you unfamiliar with the MSG school of mismanagement style of communicating with the media.

Dolan Very Junior, does not permit his lackeys to speak to the media without a script. The organization is replete with shills from Rosen to Fischler with Wiggy, Giannone, the incoherent Deb Kaufman Placey and others.

Ask this writer or any other how much access they are afforded by MSG with either Sather or the hoops GM. And when they do receive an audience do they really levy any well deserved criticisms?

Ask what happens if writers are too critical. I had a respected NY writer tell me in no uncertain terms that his boss at the paper was told to TELL him to lay off the criticism of the MSG empire! Why?

Advertising, personal Dolan connections? What other sport’s franchise conducts business with the media in this fashion?

So it seems from Brooksie’s article today that Rangers management is in full ‘ruin Chris Kreider so he can be dealt and have a good career elsewhere mode’. I’m thinking that if this happens to yet another of our prospects I will have to begin looking elsewhere for a team to root for.

Yes, I said nonsense, bull dog. Nonsense to believe that he isn’t here while he is fully ready to play in NHL. Nonsense to believe that they’re mishandling him and suppressing his development. He’ll be here the moment he’s ready. He looked like he didn’t know which way to turn, he was indecisive and out of position. Staying in AHL didn’t hurt Callahan, MDZ, McD, and Hagelin. Why all of a sudden you think they decided he should be in AHL while fully ready to play? Because of his 5 goals last year? What happened to him wasn’t unexpected.

This seems like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. That top line does not have chemistry, and meanwhile, Kreider is just languishing in Hartford. Only in Tortorella’s mind is Gaborik a top line LW.

Let’s just cut to the chase: Hags is our best LW, and our 2nd best guy is riding the bus in lovely Hartford, Ct.

Nash, fwiw, has played both L and R wing during his career, no? Kreider will be the first call up the moment he is ready. Could well be tomorrow. And I doubt that Gernander is the only person who’s monitoring his development.

Yeah, I work for MSG, bull dog. When I eat Chinese food. Which young player’s development have they mishandled last 3 years? I thought that MDZ could spend more time down there, in fact. Just because the fans are desperate doesn’t mean should rush the process.

well imo, the are mishandling Kreider, so theres one! MDZ spent a full year in New York, before he fell apart in his 2nd season and was sent down. Cally played major junior, it made sense for him to spend time in the AHL. McD and Hagelin, like Kreider, were college players. they did not stay in the AHL long. maybe 30 games each.the Rangers are in desperate need of scoring, yet Torts is being stubborn about the “process”.

Im not commenting about whether I think this kid should be on the roster. But just out of curiosity, what would happen if he came up at this point in time and for the rest of the season and he/they didn’t play any better? Can you really argue that maybe there would be unneeded and undeserved pressure on him from media and fans?

That’s not to say that I agree with his demotion in the first place. The one part of Brooks’ article I’ll agree with from today was that Miller has been far from perfect but he’s staying up with the big club. Last I checked what was good for the goose was good for the gander as well.

Miller makes boatloads more mistakes than Kreider ever did, but he makes them aggressively, enthusiastically and doesn’t play like a figure skater. Kreider looked lost, especially in transition, soft in the corners, always tentative and didn’t bang, squeeze center ice, utilize his nasty speed, or backcheck as necessary. However, he has a shot if the puck lands on his stick. Pyatt, Haley, Powe, etc, all with a fifth of his talent, do those mandatory things. Unless we have injuries or admit to being out of it, he should learn those things in Hartford, not Yankee Stadium. IMHO

so they need more guys like Pyatt, Halpern, and Powe? or Kreider should become a defensive specialist? players are not cookie cutters. Krediers game is his speed and shot, not mucking in the corners. are they asking Powe to center the number 1 line? of course not, thats not his game.

Doodie, I’m sure Carp’s not ignoring you. He must be swamped today with other duties and hasn’t had time to go through the chat string today. Manny could probably give you the area where he found Carp recently.

nnsense, I was simply asking you if you were kidding about me not ripping Sather. Because if you think that way, then you never knew me before very recently, or you can’t read. And I’m pretty sure you can read.

Dog, Krieder should use his size period. He absolutely must muck in the corners does Lucic,does Hartnell,does Clarkson?

No one suggests gooning but unless and until he scores like Nash he must do the other things ,he does have two other people on his line.

And btw the best example of what Krieder MUST do is Callahan,who pound for pound is the team’s best forward,blocking shots,driving to the net, standing and being pounded in front of the net,mucking and checking.

and in fact, Kreider should actually be a player along the lines of Nash, who uses his body. I don’t think Kreider has that skill level to put up Nash-like numbers, but he has the size and strength and speed to be a player of that type.

well I can play more physical than those two, and I was a perimeter player. I don’t understand why he has to play physical. many guys have gone through entire seasons without being physical, and still managed to score 20, 30, or 40 goals. let the kid play his game, and if his game is not good enough, then move on.

I’m trying to think of a good comparison for him and having some trouble. His combination of size and speed is very rare. The best example I could come up with is Patrick Marleau. If he could score points like Marleau, then by all means, play Marleau’s game. But he’s gotta get some grit to avoid being Marleau in the playoffs.

I think the problem with Kreider is that the Ranger’s organization hyped him up too much. I don’t know how many times I heard MSG’s talking heads playing up Kreider’s skills, specifically saying how his skills were going to totally translate to the NHL game. Now he gets here for his first regular season and apparently he can’t check, he can’t back check, he can’t play defense, and is totally lost on the ice. How is it possible that our number one prospect, the guy whose size and speed was hyped so much by the organization, can’t even play in the NHL over the likes of Darroll Powe and Stu Bickel? This seems to be an organizational problem.